Blog #11

                                                                 Spiritual Ecology

                The readings on spiritual ecology were very intriguing to me because I am fairly interested in the subject. I learned a lot about spiritual ecology that I didn’t know before, such as the Gaia Hypothesis. I fully agree with it because it talks about how Mother Earth is fully affected by every person and being on this Earth. Whatever we do, it will affect the Earth and everyone and thing in it.

                I think that it is pretty clear we live in a hyper-masculinized society because males have always seemed to dominate. Its seen in workplaces with women who have the same position as a man are still getting paid less. However, I think we are quickly on the way to equalization between men and women. I think that this is a big deal and that the closer we get to equalization between men and women, the better we can prosper.

                Overall, spiritual ecology is a very important topic for everyone to read about because it can open your mind and broaden your ideas. Hopefully everyone gets something out of the readings, and are able to take something positive away from it.

Blog #10

What is Social Ecology (From the Readings)? What is your view/opinion of Social Ecology? 

What forms of hierarchy are in our world today and where do you think they come form? Are there and better alternatives?

                Social ecology has a democratic philosophy, and suggests the roots of ecological and social problems can be directed to modes of social organization hierarchies. The readings were all very interesting to me because it taught me a lot and I was able to grasp a different perspective on social ecology. I agree with a lot of things in social ecology, such as the roots of current ecological and social problems can be linked to hierarchical modes. The readings about third world poverty also opened my eyes to the different ways social ecology is around us and how it affects the world.

                There are hierarchies everywhere today, big and small. One example is in the Bookchin reading, and it states how Darwinism created the idea of “survival of the fittest.” There are hierarchies in jobs, school, home, sports, and many other places if you really think about it. Through social ecology and the readings, it is clear that the point they are trying to convey is that modes of hierarchies can be destructive. However, there are always better alternatives that can be worked out. Bookchin describes in one part of his paper that an ant and a lion both serve important roles in the world. Even though an ant is tiny and a lion is large, it doesn’t mean that one is greater than the other. Both serve their society and community. Social ecology is an important concept to know because it can describe a lot about ourselves and the way we live our lives.

Blog #9

                                                                     Deep Ecology

Explain your view on deep ecology.
How can you relate these views to your lifestyle or society? Which principle do you agree most with and which do you agree least with? Why? What concerns do you have about Deep
Ecology? 

                I have many different thoughts about Deep Ecology and have learned a lot about it through these readings. I understand it as asking a lot of questions to get deeper into the fundamentals of human life, society, and nature. Deep ecology is founded on the roots of peoples experience with nature, and this compromise with ecological consciousness. Deep ecology simply says to ‘Live and Let Live,’ which to me is a very meaningful quote, and says it all. Since we can walk this Earth and live on it, why can’t others? No matter how big or small, smart or stupid everything should get a respectful chance at life.

                 I can see how I can be classified as having a ‘shallow ecology’ view. I do what I can for the environment and community, but never above and beyond. I think everyone should try their best to go above and beyond because it not only makes the world better, but you feel like a stronger person.  I think that by helping with the garden team, I am changing that every day. Deep ecology has taught me that we are no separate from nature. We are all one and no one is higher than the other.

                I agree with the principle of diversity a lot because it makes sense to me and I think people should work together and get along. There wasn’t much I could say I disagreed with, but overall it got my mind thinking. The only concerns I have with Deep ecology is that it won’t be able to get out and say what it needs to say as easy as other topics.

Blog #8

                             What are the preconditions necessary for using consensus 

               decision making in a group or organization? What are the strengths and 

                                                     weaknesses of the process?

               Through the readings I was able to gain a lot of information about consensus and the necessities for it in a group. I learned that the consensus is where a question is asked, and everyone gets a chance to give an opinion and chime in to help. There was a repetitive elaboration on the fact that in order to have a positive and effective consensus making decision everyone must participate and agree with one another. People in the group should feel comfortable with it and participate in order to get the best outcome.

                Caroline Estes explained how the consensus can help the process of forming communities and said that it all builds on trust. Each person in the community has a unique background forming a certain personality, and this gives many different opinions and perspectives. Caroline Estes says that by people exposing their backgrounds, it brings the group and community together as a whole. People are able to see other peoples sides easily and are more likely to trust and be trusted by others. She then states that “Without trust, consensus really hobbles along.”

                It’s clear that trust is a main factor in consensus. Also, like I stated before, participation is another important piece in consensus.  This is one weakness in the process, because without participation from all group members, the decision making process can become more difficult and unstable. If someone misses a group meeting, or doesn’t put in their input, they are losing the opportunity to voice their opinion. Everyone in the group needs to put something into the consensus, or it isn’t going to work as well.

                Overall, the strength of consensus can really help out a community and build it stronger, faster. However, none of that will happen if people in the group do not trust or participate. Once that is established, the community can really benefit from consensus.

Blog #7

                                         Culture Jamming, Consumption, and Sustainability

                    Culture-jamming is a way used to subvert media culture and its mainstream institutions such as corporate advertising. It is also a form of subvertising and sometimes changes mass media to be satirical or ironic towards itself.  Culture jams use memes a lot to set off verbal associations as well as others to impact the viewers. All of this is in hopes to spark questions about the political assumptions in commercial culture. As a tool for activism, I think it is great because it gets people thinking and wanting to help the community or the environment more. One example I read about cultural jamming was a commercial about how Americans eat and buy almost thirty times more food than someone in India or China. I think this can really impact people because they don’t think about how tons of people out there are hungry and don’t eat on a daily basis like we do. This commercial makes them think and want to take a stand and do something for others. The commercial hopes to get the people engaged in the world and get people out to do something positive for others.

                It’s pretty easy to get the advertising and cultural jamming out to the public because of all the mass media. Information is so easy to get a hold of because of all the technology such as your computer and phone. Advertisements of cultural jamming like posters and memes can all be viewed just about anywhere. This is helpful to them because it gets their message out.

These are a couple videos I found showing cultural jamming. The first one is my favorite because it shows all these false advertisements of McDonalds and how it looks all harmless and nice. However, the next few clips show obesity all over America and the harmful effects of fast food. There are a few clips from the movie Super-size Me included which are also interesting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cjBhc3CZPE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gR5gEy3HkzE

Blog #6

                                                                      GTP READINGS

                I wanted to do Spiritual Ecology because I thought it would be a new thing to learn about. I myself would like to learn more, so I'm sure the rest of the class would too. I think it will be fun teaching the class about it because so far the readings are very interesting. A lot of the readings describe how the land needs to be taken care of and treated with respect and gives a lot of good information.

                When leading the class in this topic, I want to see what they think about spiritual ecology, and what they all think it is in their own definition. Everyone is going to have a different idea or opinion, and I want to make sure I hear them all out. Spiritual ecology can also be a tricky subject to teach because everyone has their own beliefs too. Overall, I want this to be an enjoyable presentation and I want everyone to learn something from my classmates and I!