Sustainability!

So I have to write this paper for geology about sustainable living. You know, "going green" and low carbon footprints and all that jazz.

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In the world of 2009, the pursuit of “green” seems to seek out and infest every sector of our lives. What if I want a new car? The tide of the times urges me to “go green”. And if I want a new toilet? The tide remains constant. Even in line at the grocery store we are presented with the cursory choice to take up our cloth shopping bags and fight for the good of the environment. How do we know that “going green” isn’t just the next buzzword to come out of a marketing machine, but is instead a legitimate chance to preserve a clean Earth? A mixture of common sense and hard science provide us the backbone for the green agenda. Yes, there are alarmists who spout environmental boilerplate ad nauseum, but what does it matter if the end is relatively quick or relatively slow; an end is an end–and this one is avoidable. It is easy to imagine filling one’s own home with trash until it is a noxious hole. It is also easy to envision eating all of the food from one’s refrigerator and then having none left. However, applying these simple concepts to a global scale baffles most minds. How could the Earth be so large and not be limitless? It defies logic for one person to think his actions make any real impact, and in a world with only one person, they wouldn’t. Applied to billions of people, however, it becomes quite a pickle. So how do we motivate people on that scale to change their thinking? Maybe a good buzzword is what we need after all.

More Pics from National Day on Writing

More National Day on Writing Pics

First National Day on Writing!

The Learning Center's own Sarah Cook put together the decorations to celebrate October 20th, the first National Day on Writing. Here are some photos of the event!

Bright banners announce the day to students wending their way through construction

OU-C students get involved by letting us know their thoughts on writing, whether it be how writing allows them to communicate with the rest of the human race... or whether it simply causes their hands to cramp :)

More post-cards to come in the following blog entry!

Twilight?

In my ENG356 course (Young Adult Literature with Dr. Schmittauer), we are given an article a week for which we have to write a blog response. This week's article (found here) is about Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series.

I have a confession. No, I do not love the Twilight series. In fact, my confession is this: I have refused to read Twilight so that I can maintain my prideful sense of superiority over those that love it. Awful, right? I actually considered reading it for the same reason that Kellen Rice, the author of this article, says she did (to see what all the hype was about). But I abandoned the idea rather quickly when I realized that I might actually end up liking the books. Then what superiority could I cling to? I would have nothing left.

Thankfully, Kellen Rice has saved me the trouble and stroked my ego in one sarcastic and sharply-written article for Blast Magazine. But, as an Literature major and future Library Science student, I am starting to wonder if I should read them anyway. I'd really rather not.

How about you? Twilight: Love it or hate it? Should I feel a sense of obligation to read the series?

Happy Columbus Day?

Christine Armario from the Associated Press covers an interesting story today:
The Darker Side of Columbus Emerges in the US Classroom.

Thoughts?

Writing Contest Announced!

mad-lib blogging :)

1. adjective
2. noun
3. noun
4. gerund
5. adjective
6. adverb
7. infinitive

Working in the writing center has been a [1] experience for me. I've learned a great deal of information about [2] and [3] definitely improved my [4] skills. I've met some [5] people in my short tenure here, and I [6] hope [7].