Energy and Place Project
Project Reflection
In this project we were assigned the task of writing a personal essay or poem portraying our sense of place and integrating our environmental ethic and perspective on energy production. Leading up to writing our pieces, various guest speakers came to talk to us about energy production, renewable energy, the environment and how to improve our writing skills. In order to help develop our environmental ethics, we learned about the impacts of hydroelectric power, coal mining and other sources of energy production.
I have grown significantly as a creative writer through this project. I have always been a decent writer and don’t have much trouble writing things like research papers and lab reports. When it comes to creative writing though, I am too critical of my work and often get stuck with no good material. I think the reason I was able to create a good personal essay was because the creative part was about me and a place that I feel at home. Writing creatively about something that I’m passionate about made the process much easier and truly quite enjoyable.
When writing my first draft of the essay, I had run out of time and submitted a paper with a conclusion that was seriously lacking. It did not connect well to the ideas presented in the body paragraphs and it was clear when reading it that it had been written in a hurry. In order to improve my conclusion, I completely rewrote it so as to incorporate the two ideas of conservationism and proper use of nature as well as the analogy about facing our fears to become better people.
During the refinement process of this essay, I enlisted the help of my dad, an english major, to assist me with grammar and spelling errors. He helped me to use a few semicolons correctly and rearrange commas to make my writing flow better. I made my writing beautiful by using descriptive words to make the reader understand details about my place and environmental ethic. One example of a descriptive sentence from my essay is when I say “I roll over on my stomach and peer into the green depths to see frail sticks that were once tall oak trees housing squirrels, their leaves changing with the seasons.” I felt that this sentence really put the audience in a specific place imagining the green depths and preexisting life.
Through this project, I grew not only as a writer but also as a person. Writing this essay about a place that I love made me realize how much the lake means in my life. This project also helped me to define my environmental ethic and form a better perspective on energy use and production. Realizing some of the impacts of producing energy with coal and hydroelectric power will definitely affect some of my decisions in the future. When designing my house for example, I may choose to put solar panels on my roof or drive a car that is powered by renewable energy instead of oil and gas. Also, doing the journal assignments really helped me to get inspired about creative writing and writing for fun as opposed to by force. Writing in a way that I can have fun is something new to me and is a hobby that I wish to pursue through journal entries, songwriting and perhaps even some poetry.
I have grown significantly as a creative writer through this project. I have always been a decent writer and don’t have much trouble writing things like research papers and lab reports. When it comes to creative writing though, I am too critical of my work and often get stuck with no good material. I think the reason I was able to create a good personal essay was because the creative part was about me and a place that I feel at home. Writing creatively about something that I’m passionate about made the process much easier and truly quite enjoyable.
When writing my first draft of the essay, I had run out of time and submitted a paper with a conclusion that was seriously lacking. It did not connect well to the ideas presented in the body paragraphs and it was clear when reading it that it had been written in a hurry. In order to improve my conclusion, I completely rewrote it so as to incorporate the two ideas of conservationism and proper use of nature as well as the analogy about facing our fears to become better people.
During the refinement process of this essay, I enlisted the help of my dad, an english major, to assist me with grammar and spelling errors. He helped me to use a few semicolons correctly and rearrange commas to make my writing flow better. I made my writing beautiful by using descriptive words to make the reader understand details about my place and environmental ethic. One example of a descriptive sentence from my essay is when I say “I roll over on my stomach and peer into the green depths to see frail sticks that were once tall oak trees housing squirrels, their leaves changing with the seasons.” I felt that this sentence really put the audience in a specific place imagining the green depths and preexisting life.
Through this project, I grew not only as a writer but also as a person. Writing this essay about a place that I love made me realize how much the lake means in my life. This project also helped me to define my environmental ethic and form a better perspective on energy use and production. Realizing some of the impacts of producing energy with coal and hydroelectric power will definitely affect some of my decisions in the future. When designing my house for example, I may choose to put solar panels on my roof or drive a car that is powered by renewable energy instead of oil and gas. Also, doing the journal assignments really helped me to get inspired about creative writing and writing for fun as opposed to by force. Writing in a way that I can have fun is something new to me and is a hobby that I wish to pursue through journal entries, songwriting and perhaps even some poetry.
Essay First Draft
Essay Final Draft
Happiness and Meaning Project
Essential Questions:
a. What is the purpose of your existence?
b. What is happiness and what makes you happy?
c. What does it mean to live a meaningful life?
d. To what extent can literature shape your personal philosophy on happiness and meaning?
a. What is the purpose of your existence?
b. What is happiness and what makes you happy?
c. What does it mean to live a meaningful life?
d. To what extent can literature shape your personal philosophy on happiness and meaning?
Project Reflection
Over the course of this project, I discovered many new insights into the differences between happiness and meaning as well as gained an understanding of how different people find both pleasures in their personal lives. Before this project, I mostly thought of happiness and meaning as being sort of the same thing. The main difference however is that happiness is usually spawned from short term pleasures such as entertainment and fun while meaning comes from more long term satisfaction like helping others and nourishing interpersonal relationships. Each person is passionate about different things in their lives and can find happiness and meaning in many different ways. I find happiness for example when I am skiing or having fun at a party while the meaning in my life comes from nurturing relationships with family and friends.
Questions for myself
Questions for myself
- I wonder if I will ever go out on my own into the wilderness to find meaning.
- What is the perfect ratio of happiness to meaning in my life?
- Do I want my future career to be meaningful or fun? Could it be both?
- I wonder what kind of things in the next few years will give my life happiness and meaning.
- What role do I play in other people’s happiness?
- What kind of things can I do to increase happiness or create meaning in other people’s lives?
Morality and Politics of Justice
Project Reflection
This project was about applying moral philosophy to the justice of politics. The first piece of this project was to learn about moral ideas and why people have the opinions they do. We studied Henry David Thoreau and Dr. Martin Luther king, observing how they went against the grain of societal norms and had different perspectives on the inner workings of our society as a whole. Also, we looked at the constitution and the ideas upon which our country was formed, liberty, freedom and equality. Once we had gained a good understanding of moral philosophies including libertarianism and utilitarianism, we applied these ideas to modern day issues. Students studied and wrote about issues such as gun control, abortion, marijuana legalization and animas testing.
In the draft of my article, Ashley pointed out that my paragraphs were very repetitive. I realized that the reason for this was my lack of evidence favoring my argument. In my first draft, in the second to last paragraph, I mentioned an article and gave a one sentence quote that didn’t strongly support my argument. In the process of refining this paragraph, I went back to the article and found a more substantial piece of evidence that strongly supported my argument and gave it more credibility.
In the refinement of my writing mechanics, I changed much of my sentence structures. I had run on sentences as well as ones that simply didn’t sound good when read aloud. For example, i said “parents and other people were concerned that legalizing marijuana would increase teen use but it was passed with a 55.23%/44.77 majority. I later split that sentence into two sentences saying “many people, including parents, were concerned that the legalization would encourage teen use. Even still, the bill was passed with a 55.23%/44.77 majority.
For the artistic portion of my project, I chose to write a rap. I enjoy recording music and took this project as an opportunity to practice my studio skills as well as use rhetoric to portray my perspective. Using music to show my perspective was my way of going against the norms as Thoreau did. Henry David Thoreau was a firm believer in following your inner path and doing whatever it takes to makes you happy. For me, making music makes me happier than making a poster while also increasing the diversity among projects. My song uses pathos to communicate my perspective by putting the listener in the shoes of a teenager and hearing how one of us might think we can fix a problem. It also incorporates logos by quoting Nelson Mandela and pointing to the science of the teenage brain. I challenged the perspectives of my audience by trying to bring out empathy in the adults. I tried to open the minds of adults by expressing through my lyrics, the way that teenagers think and how we cannot yet make good decisions solely based on the word of our parents.
The part of this project that influenced me most was learning about the moral philosophies. I have always sort of thought about these philosophies like libertarianism and utilitarianism in pieces but never as whole ideas. There is a requirement to society that everyone has to conform to the norms of life. I have always thought that I would just go through high school, get good grades, go to a good college, get a good job, make money, and have a family. This project really opened my eyes to what really matters in life and to the fact that change is only made when people stop being normal. If I want to change the world in any way, I can’t do what everyone else is doing. I have to do something new and different, something most people wouldn’t try.
In the draft of my article, Ashley pointed out that my paragraphs were very repetitive. I realized that the reason for this was my lack of evidence favoring my argument. In my first draft, in the second to last paragraph, I mentioned an article and gave a one sentence quote that didn’t strongly support my argument. In the process of refining this paragraph, I went back to the article and found a more substantial piece of evidence that strongly supported my argument and gave it more credibility.
In the refinement of my writing mechanics, I changed much of my sentence structures. I had run on sentences as well as ones that simply didn’t sound good when read aloud. For example, i said “parents and other people were concerned that legalizing marijuana would increase teen use but it was passed with a 55.23%/44.77 majority. I later split that sentence into two sentences saying “many people, including parents, were concerned that the legalization would encourage teen use. Even still, the bill was passed with a 55.23%/44.77 majority.
For the artistic portion of my project, I chose to write a rap. I enjoy recording music and took this project as an opportunity to practice my studio skills as well as use rhetoric to portray my perspective. Using music to show my perspective was my way of going against the norms as Thoreau did. Henry David Thoreau was a firm believer in following your inner path and doing whatever it takes to makes you happy. For me, making music makes me happier than making a poster while also increasing the diversity among projects. My song uses pathos to communicate my perspective by putting the listener in the shoes of a teenager and hearing how one of us might think we can fix a problem. It also incorporates logos by quoting Nelson Mandela and pointing to the science of the teenage brain. I challenged the perspectives of my audience by trying to bring out empathy in the adults. I tried to open the minds of adults by expressing through my lyrics, the way that teenagers think and how we cannot yet make good decisions solely based on the word of our parents.
The part of this project that influenced me most was learning about the moral philosophies. I have always sort of thought about these philosophies like libertarianism and utilitarianism in pieces but never as whole ideas. There is a requirement to society that everyone has to conform to the norms of life. I have always thought that I would just go through high school, get good grades, go to a good college, get a good job, make money, and have a family. This project really opened my eyes to what really matters in life and to the fact that change is only made when people stop being normal. If I want to change the world in any way, I can’t do what everyone else is doing. I have to do something new and different, something most people wouldn’t try.
Voices From The Animas
https://storycorps.me/interviews/aaron-kimple-on-the-animas-river-spill-of-august-2015/
Seminar Prep and Self Assessment
George McQuinn
Humanities 11
9/15/15
Animas River Spill Seminar Prep
The EPA benefited from the spill by saving millions of dollars. Scott Fetchenheier explained to the class that the spill was really an accident waiting to happen. The Gold King Mine is only a small portion of the mining operation on the mountain, sitting on top of both the sunnyside mine and the Red and Bonita mine. After plugging the sunnyside mine, the water built up inside and rose into the two other mines above it. This entire mountain is filled with water only partly drained by the Gold King spill. If in fact the spill was eventually inevitable, the mine had to empty sometime. If the EPA had continued their investigation of the mountain, they would’ve found that it was full of massive amounts of water. Once this was known, an unbelievably expensive way of emptying the water would’ve been implicated. By creating a spill that looked like an accident, the EPA could begin to drain the mountain for free. The spill brought the monstrosity of the situation to the attention of the public and now that the public is seriously, maybe overly, concerned, they will fund the cleanup.
One thing that needs to be considered when discussing this situation of the Animas river contamination is the fact that our river was polluted before the spill and has a history of spills worse than the one this August. Although the contamination of our river was brought to our attention by the plume of toxic looking waste cruising through downtown Durango, mines in the Silverton area have been leaking and spilling acid water into the Animas for over a century. According to the mayor of Durango, there was a spill in the spring of 2014 that was larger and potentially more toxic than the recent one. It so happened that this spill occurred during the spring runoff and was brown mud colored. Not even I, who was kayaking the river almost every day, heard about it. It was only the extreme orange color that brought these spills to the forefront of the people’s minds.
I think the spill could’ve easily been prevented if more caution had been used during the assessment of the mine. Scott spoke about how the EPA was just kind of poking around the Gold King mine assessing the situation because they had permission and that the main clean up focus was on the Red and Bonita mine. It is possible that if they had been using more sophisticated equipment or a less relaxed approach to investigating the mine, they would’ve become aware of the danger before digging into the mountainside. I would like to speak to a professional or someone who was onsite about the possibility of plugging the spill before it got out of control. It seems to me that it would’ve been possible to replug it but it also may be that with the massive amount of water inside, It would’ve gotten out anyway.
Is superfund the best way to go about cleaning up the Silverton mining waste?
In order for superfund to be designated and then put into place on the National Priorities List, the site must first go through the EPA superfund Hazard Ranking System. Below, I have displayed the ranking system as described on the EPA website
“The factors are grouped into three categories:
If the site scores low in all categories, it will receive a low overall score. However, if the site receives a high score in even one of the categories, it can score relatively high considering that it may be seriously dangerous even if only in one aspect.
Many people believe that designating Silverton as a superfund site would have only negative effects on property values, mining prosperity, and tourist attraction. However, the town of Leadville, similar in size and attraction to Silverton, has achieved many successes through superfund designation. According to an article by the EPA. “Lake County has bounced back, with a vibrant, increasingly diversified economy focused on the area’s rich heritage and remarkable natural resources. Outdoor recreation and tourism are attracting visitors from across the country.” Leadville faced a shutdown very similar to the shutdown of the Sunnyside mine and other Silverton mines. Although the lack of employment put both communities out of employment for years, superfund helped Leadville to return to a healthy community booming with opportunity for recreation and tourist attractions.
I believe that my participation in the seminar today is worthy of an A. During the seminar, I offered a unique perspective as well as good leadership by posing a question that nobody was really expecting. As the conversation was at a pause, I asked about the conspiracy theory and how realistic people thought it was. I provided the circle with my opinion that it could be very likely that the spill would save the EPA millions of dollars. After leaving my bold idea to be pondered, I allowed others to contribute their thoughts on the question as well as my comment. This subject carried the seminar into a passionate discussion in which almost everyone was able to contribute to. By asking a clarifying question, I made a connection as well as provided evidence, provoking the other speakers to show other sources of evidence. I noticed that Dylan kept returning to the idea that superfund was strongly rejected by Silverton community members and I did not believe this to be entirely accurate based on information given to us by Scott Fetchenheier. I asked the group what they had discovered on this topic and received evidence for both sides of the argument. During this seminar, I offered a solid perspective, showed great leadership, made connections to evidence, provided evidence, as well as made clarifications for the myself and the group.
In the seminar today, I believe that I did very well in making connections to my personal life. With the topic of public awareness about river contamination, I mentioned the mine spill in spring of 2014 that nobody was aware of. I was in the river kayaking every day during this spill and was never aware that I was surfing in potentially toxic metals. In the next seminar, I want to work on stepping back. Although it is good to make a lot of comments that help the seminar, not every one is necessary. I enjoy expressing my opinion but if it has already been expressed and is not crucial to the discussion, I would like to use that speaking time to invite others’ opinions that may not have been expressed at all.
Humanities 11
9/15/15
Animas River Spill Seminar Prep
The EPA benefited from the spill by saving millions of dollars. Scott Fetchenheier explained to the class that the spill was really an accident waiting to happen. The Gold King Mine is only a small portion of the mining operation on the mountain, sitting on top of both the sunnyside mine and the Red and Bonita mine. After plugging the sunnyside mine, the water built up inside and rose into the two other mines above it. This entire mountain is filled with water only partly drained by the Gold King spill. If in fact the spill was eventually inevitable, the mine had to empty sometime. If the EPA had continued their investigation of the mountain, they would’ve found that it was full of massive amounts of water. Once this was known, an unbelievably expensive way of emptying the water would’ve been implicated. By creating a spill that looked like an accident, the EPA could begin to drain the mountain for free. The spill brought the monstrosity of the situation to the attention of the public and now that the public is seriously, maybe overly, concerned, they will fund the cleanup.
One thing that needs to be considered when discussing this situation of the Animas river contamination is the fact that our river was polluted before the spill and has a history of spills worse than the one this August. Although the contamination of our river was brought to our attention by the plume of toxic looking waste cruising through downtown Durango, mines in the Silverton area have been leaking and spilling acid water into the Animas for over a century. According to the mayor of Durango, there was a spill in the spring of 2014 that was larger and potentially more toxic than the recent one. It so happened that this spill occurred during the spring runoff and was brown mud colored. Not even I, who was kayaking the river almost every day, heard about it. It was only the extreme orange color that brought these spills to the forefront of the people’s minds.
I think the spill could’ve easily been prevented if more caution had been used during the assessment of the mine. Scott spoke about how the EPA was just kind of poking around the Gold King mine assessing the situation because they had permission and that the main clean up focus was on the Red and Bonita mine. It is possible that if they had been using more sophisticated equipment or a less relaxed approach to investigating the mine, they would’ve become aware of the danger before digging into the mountainside. I would like to speak to a professional or someone who was onsite about the possibility of plugging the spill before it got out of control. It seems to me that it would’ve been possible to replug it but it also may be that with the massive amount of water inside, It would’ve gotten out anyway.
Is superfund the best way to go about cleaning up the Silverton mining waste?
In order for superfund to be designated and then put into place on the National Priorities List, the site must first go through the EPA superfund Hazard Ranking System. Below, I have displayed the ranking system as described on the EPA website
“The factors are grouped into three categories:
- likelihood that a site has released or has the potential to release hazardous substances into the environment;
- characteristics of the waste (e.g. toxicity and waste quantity); and
- people or sensitive environments (targets) affected by the release.
- ground water migration (drinking water);
- surface water migration (drinking water, human food chain, sensitive environments);
- soil exposure (resident population, nearby population, sensitive environments); and
- air migration (population, sensitive environments).
If the site scores low in all categories, it will receive a low overall score. However, if the site receives a high score in even one of the categories, it can score relatively high considering that it may be seriously dangerous even if only in one aspect.
Many people believe that designating Silverton as a superfund site would have only negative effects on property values, mining prosperity, and tourist attraction. However, the town of Leadville, similar in size and attraction to Silverton, has achieved many successes through superfund designation. According to an article by the EPA. “Lake County has bounced back, with a vibrant, increasingly diversified economy focused on the area’s rich heritage and remarkable natural resources. Outdoor recreation and tourism are attracting visitors from across the country.” Leadville faced a shutdown very similar to the shutdown of the Sunnyside mine and other Silverton mines. Although the lack of employment put both communities out of employment for years, superfund helped Leadville to return to a healthy community booming with opportunity for recreation and tourist attractions.
I believe that my participation in the seminar today is worthy of an A. During the seminar, I offered a unique perspective as well as good leadership by posing a question that nobody was really expecting. As the conversation was at a pause, I asked about the conspiracy theory and how realistic people thought it was. I provided the circle with my opinion that it could be very likely that the spill would save the EPA millions of dollars. After leaving my bold idea to be pondered, I allowed others to contribute their thoughts on the question as well as my comment. This subject carried the seminar into a passionate discussion in which almost everyone was able to contribute to. By asking a clarifying question, I made a connection as well as provided evidence, provoking the other speakers to show other sources of evidence. I noticed that Dylan kept returning to the idea that superfund was strongly rejected by Silverton community members and I did not believe this to be entirely accurate based on information given to us by Scott Fetchenheier. I asked the group what they had discovered on this topic and received evidence for both sides of the argument. During this seminar, I offered a solid perspective, showed great leadership, made connections to evidence, provided evidence, as well as made clarifications for the myself and the group.
In the seminar today, I believe that I did very well in making connections to my personal life. With the topic of public awareness about river contamination, I mentioned the mine spill in spring of 2014 that nobody was aware of. I was in the river kayaking every day during this spill and was never aware that I was surfing in potentially toxic metals. In the next seminar, I want to work on stepping back. Although it is good to make a lot of comments that help the seminar, not every one is necessary. I enjoy expressing my opinion but if it has already been expressed and is not crucial to the discussion, I would like to use that speaking time to invite others’ opinions that may not have been expressed at all.