Part of the Bigger Picture

This is my final project for this class.

Part of the Bigger Picture

One of the biggest issues being discussed in the news today is the environment. There are many people in Connecticut that are concerned about the government's involvement with saving resources and preserving the planet. Even though there aren’t many big cities in our state, we still contribute to the way the environment is today. The first way is with, of course, global warming. We all know that the earth's climate is changing, and that if nothing is done to prevent this, then there will be many problems in the future (like Florida being submerged in water when the glaciers totally melt). In this state, unfortunately, there isn't a lot of action being taken to prevent this. The Connecticut DEP has put items in place, such as the Global Warming Solutions Act, which is trying to decrease pollution by 10 percent by 2020. This is a step in the right direction for Connecticut, and hopefully we'll achieve this.

Governor Jodi Rell passed a bill in 2007 that works to reduce the amount of energy used and invests in energy efficiency and clean, renewable energy. It includes tax breaks for energy star appliances and cars that get 40 miles or more to the gallon. "Green" building standards are also included with these new laws, making a lot of businesses better for the environment. The bill is going towards helping the country stop being so dependent on natural resources.

While all this is going on concerning preserving our planet for the future, there are still some things going on that are directly harmful to the environment. We all remember when the smell of dead fish surrounded the football field. Though that wasn't caused by pollution, it's an example of what the results are when people mess with the environment. Just recently in Branford there was a lawsuit about river. Atlantic Wire Company was accused of dumping toxic waste in the Branford River 21 times since 2005. That company has agreed to pay almost 2 million dollars to the state because of it (both the Department of Environmental Protection and the Connecticut Fund for the Environment). If something like this could happen in our own hometown, then we know that there are worse things going on in the more populated parts of the country. This begs the question: if no one cares what is happening to the environment, then how can it ever get better? If more people in places like Connecticut did care, then things would change, and the future of the planet wouldn't nearly be as uncertain as it is right now.

Though we live in a small town in the state of Connecticut, our actions can make a difference in the overall condition of the environment. Learning about some of the problems that not only affect us, but other places in the country, is the first step that everyone must take. Protecting the environment is for the benefit of everyone that lives on this planet.

Continuing My Final

I've been looking through a lot of articles and websites, and am now in the process of writing my article. There's stuff about problems with the Branford River and how the town is a clean energy community. I also think I'm going to write about some of the laws that are in effect concerning the environment.

The Stepping Stones of a Major Grade

So far on my final project for class, I have found a couple of interesting websites. One is about the Department of Environmental Protection in Connecticut. Another is a blog that talks about environmential issues in CT. These two websites will get me started in looking for information to put in my article. The first has a lot about laws and the second is mainly made up of links to other pages. I don't want to do something that's really similar to like an article that I find online, so what I have to do now is pick a couple of issues that are happening with the environment now, and find a lot on each of them. Then I can put it all together in the article.

Final

The final project for our 21st Century Journalism Class is pretty much open ended. We have to do research on something that interests us and share our findings. I was thinking of doing something related to the environment. How there will be problems tomarrow because of what we're doing today is something that I think I could find a lot of information on, and I've already found several interesting blogs about it. My project has to inform the class about what's going on with the environment. I was thinking about issues and how Connecticut specifically is combatting them. There's a lot of talk about what the government is doing (like with the EPA) and what big cities are doing. There's not all that much out there about just what Connecticut is doing, so I'll write an article about it. I can then publish it in the Buzz. It'd be interesting to BHS students because it may help them see what they can personally do about it and what the local region is doing.

Podcasting

Now that we've fininished writing our This I Believe essays, we are going to record ourselves reading them aloud and are putting each as a podcast. This way, people can hear me speak my essay as opposed to just reading it themselves. This assignment has both pros and cons to it. A pro is that doing this will help the readers/listeners really understand what I'm trying to say. A con is that I think it would be better if the readers simply read the essay and not listen to me speak it. Then they can just get what they get from the essay, and not have the sound of my voice or the way I say things affect how they think of the whole essay. By reading it aloud for others to hear, it makes me really think about what I'm saying and how others are going to hear it. I think that they'll get a different impression if they hear it spoken instead of just reading it.

listening

There are a lot of podcasts out there about many different things. Through websites like http://www.podcastalley.com/index.php and http://www.kqed.org/arts/programs/writersblock/, I've listened to ones about everything from music to fashion to movie reviews. I think that it's an interesting way to get your opinion and thoughts out there.

this i believe

My 21st century journalism class is writing essays through the This I Believe website. We are supposed to tell a story, something that's about us, and relates to a belief that each of us has. I've thought a lot about what I'm going to write. There are many things I could choose to do on this assignment. Finally, I've picked a memory that made me believe in remembering. It's about when my great-uncle died, and I went to his funeral when I was twelve years old. I'd expected it to be a horrible, solumn thing, with all my family members crying. Instead, though, I found my family members laughing at things they were remembering about my great uncle. I wasn't very close to him when he was alive, but after that day, I think I understand what kind of a person he was. He loved making people laugh, and often did outrageous things to get those laughs. This experience made me see how someone, even if they never did anything huge or really memorable, can affect the lives of everyone who knew him.