ENVIRONMENTAL PRESERVATION LIVES ON!

" I remember a hundred lovely lakes, and recall the fragrant breath of pine and fir and cedar and poplar trees. The trail has strung upon it, as upon a thread of silk, opalescent dawns and saffron sunsets. It has given me blessed release from care and worry and the troubled thinking of our modern day. It has been a return to the primitive and the peaceful. Whenever the pressure of our complex city life thins my blood and benumbs my brain, I seek relief in the trail; and when I hear the coyote wailing to the yellow dawn, my cares fall from me - I am happy."
~ Hamlin Garland - 1899

Centuries ago, back before Leif Erickson and an early Christopher Columbus “founded” North America there were indigenous people who lived on this nutrient rich continent solely off of natural resources. These people who appear rare in the contemporary are referred to as Native Americans; they once had various different tribes similarly to the current plethora of subcultures in North America. The tribes practiced environmental ethics in a time where the earth’s deterioration was not a fear. Early settlers characterized the indigenous of North America as primitive because of how the less technologically advanced society physically appeared and spoke. Hypocritically for the Europeans, the Native Americans taught the settlers how to survive off the land and shared their land even when these natives could see through the false promises that lead to major deception. A member of the Wintu tribe which is based out of what is now known as Sacramento, California, once said in the nineteenth century the following: "When we Indians kill meat, we eat it all up. When we dig roots, we make little holes. When we build houses, we make little holes. When we burn grass for grasshoppers, we don't ruin things. We shake down acorns and pine nuts. We don't chop down the trees. We only use dead wood. But the white people plow up the ground, pull down the trees, kill everything. ... The White people pay no attention. ...How can the spirit of the earth like the White man? Everywhere the White man has touched it, it is sore" (Stony Productions. 1996, Native American Quotes).

Today, environmentalists of different ethnicities share this perspective that the earth is polluted from destructive and inefficient acts for the creation of selfish desires. Since the beginning of this close extinction of the indigenous culture the planet has become more polluted from heat-trapping greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases are created from: burning, fossil fuels and biomass which is formerly live vegetation (I.E: wood, sugar cane, corn, etc.); and the rising emissions from aerosol propellants (compressed gas) (Solomon, S., Qin, D., Manning, M. 2007, Recent Climate Change). The primary effects of greenhouse gases are a dramatic increase in global temperatures and a rise in sea level which causes the destruction of ecosystems (Mayhew, M., 2001, Appetite for Destruction. Forum for Applied Research and Public Policy).

The technological advancements which progressively started during the Industrial Revolution of the eighteenth century have created a simplistic life for modern cultures but this simplicity has created detrimental effects on the environment. Native Americans portray humanity as the caretaker of the earth. As caretakers of the earth they tried to share the land without gluttony because every inhabitant is part of the planet. The indigenous noticed this invasion of the “white man” but the wise elders of tribes changed their style of life to allow the new settlers fertile living. Caretakers of the earth must act as humanitarians because humans are among the many inhabitants. Similarly to today, there are members in every culture who partake in malevolent activities. Settlers experienced the fear of, thievery, rape and murder from stories that told of such actions in areas around them. A stereotype developed among both sides. The “white man” was seen by the Native Americans as inconsiderate; coinciding, the indigenous of North America were portrayed as morbid creatures to the growing array of European settlers.

The mass development of prejudices from false stereotypes is still being constructed today. Societies have learned that not one person or group can represent a sole entity; there are “bad seeds.” The knowledge that Native Americans and European settlers of the “new world” possessed could have been shared to each-other; it’s evident that it would have prolonged life and deteriorated bias. This is a case study of the practices and repression of solar technology and energy efficiency that have been administered before and since the origins of indigenous tribes in North America.

-“In any given hour, more energy from the sun reaches Earth than is used by the whole human population in any given year” (Mckibben, B., 2009, Paths To The Future. Natural Geographic. Energy, 95).

The sun has spiritual traits that are recognized among religions and those without religious tendencies. The circulation of the earth around the sun depicts time in every aspect from: daylight to dark night; days to week; weeks to month and months to year. Small clusters of plants grow to become large vegetated areas from the UV rays and heat emitted from the sun. The amount of sunlight a person is exposed to is proven through many psychological studies to affect their emotional state. The following story was contributed by The Stanford University Solar-Center and portrays the significance of the sun to the Hopi tribe. The Hopi is one of the oldest still intact tribes in the United States of America, based out of Northern Arizona.

A boy once lived with his mother's mother for he didn't know who his father was. His grandmother said to ask the Sun about his father, surely the Sun would know. One morning the boy made a flour of crushed tortoise shell, cornmeal, coral, and seashells. He threw the flour upwards and it made a path into the sky (Milky Way). He climbed the path and when he found the Sun he asked "Who is my father?" and the Sun replied, "You have much to learn." The boy fell to Earth. He then made a wooden box from a Cottonwood tree and sealed himself in it as it floated west down a river to find the Sun again. The box washed ashore where two rivers join. He was freed from the box by a young female rattlesnake. Together they traveled west to find the Sun. They saw a meteor fall into the sea on its way to the Sun's house. They asked it for a ride. In this way they made it to the Sun's house. There they met the Sun's mother (the Moon) who was working on a piece of turquoise. That evening when the Sun came home from his days work, the boy asked again, "Who is my father?" And then the Sun replied "I think I am" (Snowder, B., 2005, The Boy and The Sun).

The sun is personified and held in high regards similarly to the existence of Christ (Christianity), Buddha (Buddhism), Ishvara (Hinduism), and Allāh (Islam). This is assumed from when the Sun implies he is the father, the creator of all life. The Native Americans used the sun’s emissions for agricultural activities but they also achieved a sense of place by not using other alternatives that pollute their beloved environment. Modernly, economic tendencies have pushed the world to seek energy sources that substitute the sun’s capabilities.

This substitution occurs because people are aware of their sense of place but are not educated about the consequences of their quick, cheap-costing energy. Solar technology has undergone dramatic research and more recently has resurfaced into society. Native Americans approve of the use of solar thermal collecting because there are no waste emissions from the process of containing and producing the electricity. Research in solar technology has been on going since the Industrial Revolution but it was suppressed heavily in the United States after World War II when there was a need for nuclear technology in the aspect of creating nuclear warfare (Etkowitz, H., 1984, Solar Versus Nuclear Technology: Autonomous or Dependent Technology? Social Problems. 31. 4. 417).

Ironically, the largest nuclear power plant in the US is in what used to be Navajo territory in Wintersburg, Arizona (Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station). The three reactors create 3,872 megawatts which is nearly four times the production of decommissioned Maine Yankee located in Wiscasset, Maine (Nuclear Energy Institute. 2008, US Nuclear Power Plants). Nuclear power plants were not popular among society when they first entered production for several reasons. Information about the harmful effects of nuclear toxins were not clearly stated by President Harry S. Truman but were created exemplary from the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (Etkowitz, H., 1984, Solar Versus Nuclear Technology: Autonomous or Dependent Technology? Social Problems. 31. 4. 421). The world’s eyes became glued open from the shock of such fatal atrocities.

“We've raped our homelands to maintain our economies.'' - Roderick Ariwite of the National Tribal Environmental Council

(Satchell, M. 1/11/93. Trashing The Reservations? U.S. News and World Report. 114, 1).

Six years after the nuclear bombings, President Dwight D. Eisenhower endorsed “Atoms for Peace” which calmed the world but disheartened environmentalists. This was a notable transition (from Atomic Bomb to energy) for the development of nuclear technologies but is partial to causing a near extinction of the Native American race and cultural structure. Like many groups of people who are part of a specific ethnicity those of the North American indigenous ancestry contrast in their lifestyles. These people can not survive like their predecessors because of the role money plays in human life. Active tribes all have pride but the economy influences many. There are those who decide to make a tourism site out of their existence and those who don’t want to make their heritage marketable; but instead bury nuclear toxins and trash in their backyard. Hypocritically in the pride aspect, there are some tribes who fall in between; they might consider the tourism industry or the defacing of sacred land but then decide not to partake in the deformation of their culture (Satchell, M. 1/11/93. Trashing The Reservations? U.S. News and World Report. 114, 1).

On February 16, 2010 President Barack Obama announced an 8.3 billion dollar loan guarantee to build a nuclear power plant in Georgia. This decision affects not only people of all walks but the environment severely. From 1968 to 2002, the U.S. buried 47,023.4 metric tons of Uranium (U.S. Energy Information Administration. 5/26/2009,
Uranium Purchased by Owners and Operators of U.S. Civilian Nuclear Power Reactors). A process has not been discovered to transform nuclear waste into a non-harmful emission; instead this waste that has a life range longer than the existence of human beings is being sealed up in deposits all around the world.

Luckily for the wellbeing of the planet and pride of environmental enthusiasts Barack Obama also has funded advancements in Green Technologies. Michael J. Mayhew, President of Heliotropic Technologies based out of Boothbay Harbor, Maine is an Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Consultant with over thirty years of experience in the field. Mayhew develops energy efficiency projects for commercial and municipal clients as he sells renewable energy systems varying from the residential to industrial level. The renewable energy systems include, Solar Electric, Solar Hot Water and Wind technologies.

Mayhew thinks the future energy supply will consist of solar electric, wind, biomass, natural and hydrogen gases. His response to nuclear power was, “I believe nuclear wastes are such a risky problem and potentially can be used by terrorists to create ‘nuclear weapons.’ The development of breeder reactors could use today’s spent fuel as part of the fuel mix that generates electricity thus reducing the large stock-pile of spent fuel which terrorists could use and less agitated, glowing Native Americans. Did I mention that with the government incentives and the low interest rates, solar power has reached parody with conventionally generated technologies? Can I take your order please (he asked for that to be included)?”

The use of the sun is rising back into focus of every able person who consumes electricity. By adopting the use of green technologies and energy efficiency Native Americans won’t be forced to destroy their homelands and relationships among other tribes. Though the use of the sun has been ignored; the once irritated technology has flourished into a conventional idea for all to share. If a breeder nuclear system does become available in the near future, sites like New York’s Mohawk reservation will be preserved physically with pride still intact.

References

Etkowitz, H., (1984). Solar Versus Nuclear Technology: Autonomous or Dependent Technology? Social Problems. 31. 4. 417.

Mayhew, M., (2001). Appetite for Destruction. Forum for Applied Research and Public Policy, 16 (3), 62-70.

Mckibben, B., (2009,June). Paths to The Future. Natural Geographic. Energy, 92-95.

Nuclear Energy Institute. (2008). US Nuclear Poweplants. Retrieved from: http://www.nei.org/resourcesandstats/nuclear_statistics/usnuclearpowerplants/

Quotes about the environment, nature, and trees. (2007). Retrieved from http://www.sapphyr.net/smallgems/quotes-environment-nature.htm

Satchell, M. (1993). Trashing The Reservations? U.S. News and World Report. 114, 1. Retrieved from: http://prxy4.ursus.maine.edu:2060/ehost/detail?vid=6&hid=104&sid=a2958a85- c474-402e-b6e6- 5d6fca0d4bf3%40sessionmgr104&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d #db=aph&AN=9301070143#db=aph&AN=9301070143

Snowder, B. (2005). The Boy and The Sun. Retrieved from: http://solar- center.stanford.edu/folklore/boy-and-sun.html

Solar Symbolism, Ancient and Modern. (2010). Retrieved from http://solar- center.stanford.edu/folklore/symbolism.html

Solomon, S., Qin, D., Manning, M. (2007). Recent Climate Change. Retrieved from: http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/science/recentcc.html

Stony Productions. (1996). Native American Quotes. Retrieved from: http://www.ilhawaii.net/~stony/quotes.html

U.S. Energy Information Administration. (2009).
Uranium Purchased by Owners and Operators of U.S. Civilian Nuclear Power Reactors. Retrieved from: http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/nuclear/umar/summarytable1.html

Promoting Student Wellness

Boothbay Region High School, Boothbay Harbor- The second “Parents’ Meeting” went underway on April 26, after the previous one that occurred on the first of this month. The two hour meeting was a successful attempt to preserve positivity in the learning environment among the Boothbay Region Elementary School (BRES: K-8) and Boothbay Region High School (BRHS). Issues surfacing around the health and wellness of students created concern for both parents and faculty. This worry prompted community forums. Through the forums solutions have evolved for students to enjoy the educational process.
“We’ve had a really good year; a positive one. We’re tackling challenges as they come.”
- Boothbay Region High School Principal, Dan Welch
As a member of the Alumni of the Boothbay Harbor school system I was greatly pleased to talk with BRHS’ new principal. His enthusiasm for a “positive culture and climate” transpired through the phone and it created one less unsure Alumni member (hopefully many less from viewing this article). More recently, the school has installed twenty-two cameras and limited the access points. The reaction to the new security upgrade appears mixed among a few current students I’ve talked with. Realistically and contemporary speaking, there are very few schools that don’t have surveillance and a check-in point for visitors.
This measure was made because students don’t appear to touch base with faculty and uneasy situations have aroused. Welch assured preserving a positive environment and a comfort zone between students would lessen conflict. Welch also claims that by conducting community forums there will be no “isolated incidents” which will form an integrity-filled educational facility. BRHS is lowering the class duration from eighty to fifty-eight minutes and twelve new elective courses will be in place in the fall of 2011. Among these changes, BRES and BRHS are trying to promote a healthy education from endorsing exercise. Incoming freshmen will be required to take a course called “School Tools.” This class teaches students how to maintain school work and research development.
It was a great interview! Special Thanks to Dan Welch!

History Repeats Its Self

It has been clearly illustrated that the basic frame for civilization in the “new world” was an abstract of European technology. With this noted, the European settlers strived to be different from “Mother Europe” by creating more democratically correct expressionism. As noted in Starr, the motivation to create oriented communication was halted by the threat of being charged with sedition (Starr, 2004, p.46). In this time communication beyond talk was transferred through the hub system; the majority of active participants in this system were entrepreneurs who participated in the economy. Fundamental properties and aspects of this system still appear in the form of various postal corporations but one can not say the hub system that existed during the Industrial Revolution of 1750 is completely symmetric with contemporary postal systems. Another idea that is still being contemplated today is the two-step flow.

The two-step flow was concocted by Paul Lazarsfeld and introduced in 1944. The first step involves a medium sending out a message. Then an opinionated figure interprets and relays their comprehension to their listeners. The development of focus groups and at random surveys raises the question: could this acquired information be the third step? According to the American Academy of Political and Social Science the two-step flow has converged into a one step developmental process as a result of technological advancements (Bennett, W., Manaheim, J., 2006, p. 222). This theory seems like it’s a one size deal; what about the little people?

“Herein lies a cautionary lesson for thinking about the next paradigm: if we are at a point where both social structure and media technologies are changing rapidly once again, we will be well served by more careful specifications of the underlying social and technological factors involved” (Bennett, W., Manaheim, J., 2006, p. 222).

In order for a country to experience such an upgrade it must contain integrity in both the economy and social structure. Third world countries are poor because of their lack of productivity in the world market; some regions are not blessed with rich natural resources. “Money makes the world go round.” Without any domestic products the people of these nations can’t nurture themselves and become vulnerable of world powers entering and abusing the people through child labor, unfair trade, and pollution. There are other nations of high wealth that do not partake in mediums that are regulated by a democracy.

North Korea and South Korea are exemplary in the proof that wealth is among many factors in creating a public sphere. These two countries once were the Korean Empire until the territory was annexed by Japan in 1910. After many decades the area was split into two regions. The Northern area was controlled by the Soviet Union as the Southern was obtained by the United States. Similarly to a scarce relationship between the “big red” and the U.S., North Korea is seen as the mean little brother pulling his big sister’s (South Korea) hair. The current leader of North Korea, Kim jong-il murdered his father to acquire his position. Kim is portrayed as a totalitarian for: backing out of an armistice with S. Korea; testing nuclear warfare (as recent as 2006); his strict control of the press and forming isolation from the lack of media allowed entering the country (SAN-Hun, C., 2010, Times Topics: North Korea. New York Times).

Contrasting with its nemesis, South Korea is not in isolation with the world and the Republic is a huge participant in the global economy. The country possesses kun-long (KUNWAA) which is idolized in the Buddhist religion as the forbearance and ethically correct decisions a person constructs every moment in their life. The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (NK) blames the U.S. for its shortfall. This idea would be fathomed more by people other than those of totalitarian descent if South Korea was failing too. The following is an excerpt from Korea Today of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea:

From the first day of its military occupation of South Korea, the United States harbored a scheme to perpetuate the division of Korea, and it has tried to check at every step the surging trend towards reunification in the north and the south.

The little brother is angry; he thinks it’s unfair. The lack of interaction within multimedia has left the country with a bad label. The citizens are ignorant and misperceived about other nations’ customs. The New York Times clearly states the citizens of North Korea do not know how economically poor they are in comparison of other countries. North Korea has a constitution but until the dictator is out of power, there will be no ramifications similar to the United States’ first amendment to the constitution. Kim jong-il and his father have controlled North Korea since 1948. The territory remains the same and unfortunately one of Kim jong-il’s bastard sons is going to be revealed in 2012 to take the power.

History repeats itself in various forms. This registration is similar to how a person can go into a crowd of strangers and pick out people they recognize as reminders of friends and family with similar attributes. The North American colonies that were occupied by France in the later half of the eighteenth century that are now known as Canada were not allowed to have a printing press. The British colonies were allowed to have the printing press if the publisher had a print license. Sure enough, the British settlers were more literate than the French (Starr, 2004, p.50). Print technology helped the red-backs vocalize their issues about taxation without representation. This complaining that we in the contemporary hear and actively participate in was a severe offense known as sedition. British settlers caught participating in seditious acts were jailed, exiled and murdered to a brutal extent. Contrary to the belief that France always loses, the British colonies did what Canada should have done when the printing press was made illegal.

De facto freedoms are the solution to the contemporary North Korea. The government has been controlled by the same family for sixty-two years. Since when does every generation agree on no freedom but the sodomizing of the seekers?

REFERENCES

Bennett, W., Manaheim, J. (2006). The Two Step Flow. American Academy of Political and Social Science. 608. Retrieved from: http://prxy4.ursus.maine.edu:2149/stable/pdfplus/25097863.pdf

Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. (2006). Worst Obstacle To Reunification of Korea. Korea Today. Retrieved from: http://www.kcckp.net/en/periodic/todaykorea/index.php?contents+1803+2006-01+80+36

Republic of Korea. (2010). Exploring Korea. Korea.net. Retrieved from: http://www.korea.net/exploring.do

SAN-Hun, C. (2010). Times Topics: North Korea. New York Times. Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/info/north-korea/

Starr, P. (2004). The Creation Of The Media. New York: Basic Books.

The Fearsome UMO Ultimate Frozen Fury

The University of Maine Ultimate Frozen Furies dominated at the 2010 UPA East New England College Open Sectionals (4-0) this past weekend on the Orono campus. There were twelve teams that participated in the sectionals: Dartmouth College, Bowdoin College, Dalhousie University, Bates College, University of New Hampshire, University of New Brunswick and the University of Maine at Orono & Farmington. The teams were split into 2 pools entitled Pool A and Pool B. The Pool play games’ duration went up to thirteen points.
The Furies played ferociously in Pool B where they had their first victory in a close game against the University of Maine at Farmington (13-10). Within a matter of minutes the Frozen Fury then stomped on Dartmouth College with a ten point victory. Bowdoin College’s Stoned Clown could not put out the fire and in the haze the University of Maine allowed only one point to be scored upon them. The last game appeared very close with a neck and neck struggle between the University of New Brunswick and the Frozen Furies. After several incredible passes back and forth, the Furies annihilated the Canadians (13-10). Good luck to the UMO Ultimate Frozen Furies!

Outside It Appears Silent

Society is able to communicate more effectively than ever before from the convergence of technologies. Various examples in history have portrayed the advancements in communication from David Sarnoff receiving the news of the RMS Titanic in 1912 through telegraph, to present day, when the citizens of Iran complained about the election scandals through Twitter and Facebook in 2009. These two new, social engines were available for people to use in 2006 and currently have had dramatic integration in states, countries and the world as a whole.
On January 18, 2010, just six days after the magnitude 7.0 earthquake in Chile tweets from twitter arrived consistently every second. On this same day a vast amount of Facebook members joined a group entitled “Earthquake Haiti,” which contained over 265,000 members who received messages on the minute about the conditions in Haiti (AJR, March 2010, Vital but Complementary). Both Twitter and Facebook relayed information from the survivors containing all the elements for journalists to write here in the United States. This information arrived at a constant flow; surprisingly the media audience may believe the Haiti earthquake is forgotten from the current lack of coverage in the news and press.
The citizens of Iran were in a similar place of mind as the Haitians when they were silenced by their government after hundreds of thousand Iranians protested, pleading for democracy. During the election day of June 12, 2009, cellular devices had trouble sending and receiving messages in Tehran. Later on the BBC urged its viewers that their broadcast was affected by interference of “heavy electronic Jamming” (Horrocks, June 14, 2010, BBC). The people of Iran adapted to this lack of communication by going online to voice their opinions through Twitter and Facebook. Later, on May 23, the Iranian government shutdown Facebook within the country for three days proving that communication from these social engines can still create an effect among a society.
The similarity between Chile and Iran is the fact that the issues these countries face have been silenced from different structures but they have adapted by using other technologies. The devastation in Chile is being silenced by the press from the other stories that include more interest for the viewing audience. This maybe true, but from the use of integrated technologies it is proven that people can’t be held in silence against their will.
REFERENCES
Horrocks P. (2009). Stop the blocking now. BBC News.
Retrieved from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/theeditors/2009/06/stop_the_blocking_now.html
Palser B. (2010). Vital but Complementary. American Journalism Review.
Retrieved from: http://www.ajr.org/Article.asp?id=4864

The Martial Art Of Drumming

March 24, Collin’s Center, Orono- The sold out audience of all walks of life packed the campus auditorium to view twelve Japanese performers play Taiko drums, harps and flutes. The performance opened in darkness with a male performer at center stage sitting Indian style in front of a drum. The empowering sound created from this individual dressed in Japanese attire was accompanied by ten other percussionists. The sound appeared to multiply in magnitude as the visual aid came alive from the growing line of performers sitting in the same position from upstage left to right.
These performers created an overpowering illusion from their percussionist and choreographic skills for the audience to get lost into. The viewing crowd was in silence until one of the performers marched into the seated crowd armed with a drum and drumsticks. Taro Harasaki prompted the audience to become the metronome through clapping hands in a very generic beat. This lead into intermission as the once possessed audience appeared disruptive while exiting to stretch and refresh after the first hour of the performance.
Haha Lung is a martial artist writer and in his book “Mind Penetration” Lung tells how to remain in a peace of mind. One of the tactics often characterized as “black magic” is the use of vocal expression within specific letter sounds. The Tao artists chanted Japanese words as they performed, while the audience who probably didn’t speak Japanese was possessed from the sound coming from the performer’s mouths. This aspect was very interesting to view and experience. It is remarkable that even through a language barrier the audience felt the emotion intended for them to feel.
This performance was one of the last of “Tao: The Martial Art of Drumming” during their 3 month tour in the U.S. For more information about this performance please go to: http://www.drum-tao.com/en/