My name is Brooke!

I have APES 1st period.

I don't have too many interests but I am involved, somewhat, with theatre. This spring I will be stage managing the musical Big. I also play electric bass, self-taught, whatup. I like Ben & Jerry's phish food ice cream a whole lot, and my driving gloves.

Again, not very many specific activities. I play frisbee golf on occaision. I will meet you at any restaurant, any day of the week.

I am enrolled in APES because I have run out of high school sciences! Except for physics, which I am not too interested in. It seems like a pretty chill class so far.

I hope to achieve a deeper understanding of what a college course will be like, and a credit is cool with me.

Journal Numero Uno

Chapter 1:  What does the word “sustainable society” mean to you?  Do you believe that it is possible for the society you live in to become a sustainable society within the next 50 years?

A sustainable society, to me, is basically a society with the future clearly in mind. They are concerned with using the materials they have presently as effieciently as possible to ensure the future generations have the resources they need, as well. Currently, I do not believe our society is completely sustainable. If we continue to live the way we do presently, there will be no clean resources left for our children or even ourselves. If we work to improve our way of life, as has been happening within the last 5 to 10 years, we could very easily become a sustainable society within the next 50 years.

Journal Deul

Chapter 5:  In what way do humans occupy generalist niches and in what ways do they occupy specialist niches?  Do you think humans should become more dependent on a greater variety of foods and energy resources to promote long-term survival and sustainability?  Explain and discuss the short and long term economic and political consequences of such a shift.

Humans are generalist in that we exist in large numbers and, for the most part, are adaptable to changes in weather and environment, also, we can eat many different types of food. We are specialist in that we cannot adapt to significant changes in our environment. We should become dependent on a lot more types of food than we are. We use a lot less of our natural resources than we could be, and it is harming us, long term. I think it would be good for us, economically, as well, because it is just there waiting for us to use, instead of us producing it. However, it woul dbe hard for some people to accpet these changes from the norm.

Journal #3

Chapter 8:  Suppose a hurricane blows down most of the trees in a forest.  Timber company officials offer to salvage the fallen trees and plant a tree plantation to reduce the chances of fire and to improve the area’s appearance, with an agreement that they can harvest the trees when they reach maturity and plant another tree farm.  Others argue that the damaged forest should be left alone because hurricanes and other natural events are part of nature and the dead trees will serve as a source of nutrients for natural recovery through ecological succession.  What do you think should be done and why?

I think that you can always have the best of both worlds. Some of the damaged trees should be left to supplement the nutrients in the forest and some can be harvested for paper products, etc. In addition, a company wanting to take trees from the environment should ALWAYS be willing to plant them, no question. They should not, however harvest all of the planted trees at once. This leads to decreased sustainablitity. They should plant different maturities and harvest them at various intervals to ensure a new crop.

Journal Vier

Chapter 12:  Congratulations – you have just been put in charge of the world.  Explain the 5 most important features of your population policy.

Honestly, I see no problem with how China is running things, in general. People in my world not be allowed to have more than two children of their own. Two, because that is the number needed to replace themselves. According to their wealth, they can adopt as much as they want. This would help with people's personal economies and lower the number of people on welfare. There would also be a decrease in the number of orphans. It would be great if it were possible to make every potential parent take a mental stability test, to ensure that they are capapble of raising a child, and those that are not, somehow disable them from having children. This may be problematic in that in could lead to promiscuity. I would make birth control absolutely free and easily accessible.

Journal #5

Chapter 13:  Some people argue that starving people could get enough food by eating non conventional plants and insects; other point out that most starving people do not know what plants and animals are safe to each and cannot take a chance on experimenting when even the slightest illness could kill them.  If you had no money to grow or buy food, would you collect and eat protein-rich grasshoppers, moths, or other insects?

I would eat grasshoppers in a second if I were in danger on starving. You see it all the time on television shows like "Bizarre Foods" or whatever. People eat things that are strange, but guess what? THEY'RE STILL EDIBLE. It actually kind of frustrates me that peolpe are so close minded when it comes to culinary expansion. We could be eating so much more, therefore saving so much more money and species. People shouldn't complain about the proce of beef if they're not willing to try antelope...well, you get the point.

Journal 6! almost there!

Chapter 18:  Do you agree/disagree with the argument by developing countries that developed countries should bear the brunt of reducing carbon dioxide emissions because they produce most of the emissions?  Explain.

I believe that everyone shares an equal part in taking care of the Earth, because it is everyone's home. If one country is more capable of implemetnig eco- friendly methods, then they should definitely do that. Scapegoating is a waste of time and emergy that could be put into finding a solution.

Journal 7, finally!

Chapter 16:  Congratulations!  You have just won $150,000 to build a house of your choice anywhere in the country.  What type of house would you build?  Where would you locate it?  What types of materials would you use?  What types of materials would you not use?  How would you heat and cool your house?  How would you heat your water?  Considering fuel and energy efficiency, what sort of lighting, stove, refrigerator, washer and dryer would you use?  Which of these appliances could you do without?

I would want one of those homes that looks as if its partially underground, built form the actual earth for the purpose of low visual impact. The materials i would use would be stone, clay and wood. My insulation would be made of straw.  I would leave skylights so that during the day, it would be lit by actual sunlight, and at night it would be lit by solar panels also on the roof. I would want to have my water heated geothermally and cooled by filtering the outside air.