Capitalism - Feudalism without the Kings
Tax the Rich

 

Website Wednesday

It was good sitting with the girl yesterday and helping her study for a test on 300+ years of imperialism. Well, it wasn't good for the girl's understanding of history because 300 years worth of studying for any kid is a drag and a turn-off but I doubt this history teacher's  methods are going to change this year. (Though apparently a group of kids cornered him verbally with a sea of complaints. You go, kids!) But this review sort of lessened the angst for me about modern day imperialism as I remembered those heady days of the likes of the East India Company or Cecil Rhodes. Money and greed have produced such a dark side in the human species for so long.

Let's start with a visual:

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/your-shot/wallpaper/2010/img/0915wallpaperys-3_1600.jpg

This picture grabs me. It's so lonely. It's spooky. It's not light nor dark. And it has a goal. Just what are you going to find at the end of that road? Of course, we're not talking about nature in the raw here because nature never made railings to hold back the foliage. But for me, this is one of those "stops you in your tracks" pictures. Just thought I'd share.

I like people who think out of the box so here's:

http://www.ecochunk.com/6603/2013/03/01/hungarian-artist-creates-impossible-looking-sculptures-from-pencils/

I would never write with these pencils though. It would be like eating the pig who could sing.

Then go to the main page of this website:

http://www.ecochunk.com/

and click around for works by very creative, eco-friendly artists/inventors. Eco Chunk says of itself: At Eco Chunk, we aim to bring the best and latest in environmental technology, sustainable architecture, green gadgets and environmentally friendly vehicles.

Which is all a very good segue into my next pick. While I really believe that some very creative inventors who get the necessary financial backing may provide the changes in our technology which we need if we don't want to fry the planet and us on it, I also understand the flip side of this ecology friendly movement which I found here on the Mother Nature Network:

http://www.mnn.com/your-home/organic-farming-gardening/stories/infographic-home-gardening-in-the-us

It was the commenter, Ecokid, on this page who attracted my attention.
 
Here's what he/she said:
Ecokid Aug 03 2012 at 12:26 PM
I want to point out something, because it's very important, and often ecological efforts "fail" on this account. The cost of human effort can be very high. Many people have jobs paying $10/hr, and quite a few have jobs paying $20/hr. Or more. So a diagram like this one, claiming that only $70 of labor go into a 600 sq. ft. garden is clearly wrong: It couldn't be gardened in 3 1/2 hours, or even 7 hours! This same fallacy carries over to a lot of other ecological efforts that look reasonable -- until the real cost of human labor is accounted for. Aluminum cans? Cardboard? Probably should just be thrown away -- unless it's good work experience for some preteen. We need to be really realistic about what's feasible, economically, and not just what makes us feel good. In the case of gardens -- I'm a gardener -- of course there's a lot going on that positive that wasn't mentioned. Having fresh herbs, and not having to fuss with buying and storing them is a huge time and money saving. But again, probably not every home crop is worthwhile. Cucumbers? Summer squash? Onions? Those are easily enough purchased at the store, organic, at reasonable price.

Some times I'm waiting in the car in the parking lot and get to see the Wegmann shoppers leave their big SUVs and enter the store  with their armload of cloth, PC, grocery bags. They are driving gas guzzlers but pleased that they are doing their bit to save the environment.

The push to save the environment, if it ever comes in earnest and soon enough to make a difference, is going to make real difficult changes in the lifestyle of the first/second worlders. I think it's important to remember, as Ecokid points out, We need to be really realistic about what's feasible, economically, and not just what makes us feel good. Having said that, I still think sites like Mother Nature Network: http://www.mnn.com/ are very worthwhile. Be sure to click around for tips, ideas, recipes. It's a fast, informative read.

And finally since I started talking about teaching history, let me end with a site on education:

http://www.course-notes.org/  

My latest BFF, Gavin Newsom, whom I mentioned on Monday, says that we have to change our educational paradigm. He's preaching to the choir here and I'm even hoping for just a little change at first: The common sense realization that since first worlders are living into their 90s, stuffing education into only the first 2 and 1/2 decades of their lives is a joke.

But now, we have to play the educational world as it lays and Course Notes is a very good site to 1) keep current with educational ideas and tips 2) read important/interesting forum topics (Ex: Big or small colleges, which is better., 3) produce study flashcards (I plugged in "Lincoln" and "Most Recent" and got the mother lode 4) Read outline reviews of entire textbooks.

And all this I clicked without becoming a premium member. A generous site. Be sure to bookmark it.

That's it for today. See you next week.